Chapter 69: I found my home in your arms.
Middle Fire Month, 26th Day, 600AGG
"This is a little embarrassing…" Yuriko spoke from behind the curtains. The soft sound of fabric brushing against itself as it fell to the floor filled her ears.
Any other time, the situation would've set the dragon queen's heart aflutter. A day after an execution was not that time—abhorrent as the tigerman had been. She supposed their parts were currently making their way across the Beastman Country.
"They're professionals," Draudillon paused, struggling to maintain a sanguine tone. "Would you like me to stand in there with you?"
"N-No, it's fine!" Her suggestion was rather suggestive. The thought brought a flicker of a smile to her face. Only a flicker. "I'll get used to it!"
'After this, I have to consult some bookkeepers to update me on the changes in our military expenses,' Draudillon's mind idly drifted while the tailor and angel resumed their back and forth. 'Killing that clan lord is going to bring about consequences too…'
She wasn't guilty for doing what she did. The beastman Rajan deserved it alongside many of his subordinates and peers. Merely killing one to set an example for the rest was a mercy no other ruler in the west would have shown. 'Okay, the Holy Queen perhaps.'
Now that she was contemplating it, Calca Bessarez and Yuriko were similar, weren't they? Blonde, ethereally beautiful, divine spellcasters, famed for their kindness…
Draudillon's hands covered her face. Would Yuriko have gone through so much if they'd appeared elsewhere? Would they have seen the same stomach-churning atrocities perpetrated in her domain?
Would they be happier?
Even to this day, the angel was expending the dragon's share of their mana on resurrecting the slain. Mana they should be properly recompensed for—payment which Yuriko vehemently refused whenever Draudillon made even the slightest mention.
Mana they could be spending on strengthening themselves. If their summons were permanent then it only stood to reason that they ought to devote all their resources on creating more. As callous as it sounded, a middle tier angel represented a great deal more value than a soldier, spellcaster, craftsman, or noble. Of course angels couldn't replace those professions, but that didn't change how the benefits of summoning outweighed resurrecting.
People could be replaced. Noble houses could gradually be re-established, magicians and soldiers retrained, farmers and blacksmiths and carpenters re-apprenticed.
The angels currently populating the Draconic Kingdom could only come from Yuriko. Winged instruments of her beloved's will who each represented a very real portion of their power.
So… why wasn't she insisting they redirect their energies? Why was the thought of telling them to live a little more selfishly tortuous?
'Because you feel ashamed. Ashamed to be called royalty when you lack the strength to save your own people.'
Draudillon already allowed her people to be enslaved, bred, and eaten under her rule. Should she also take away the miracles lavished upon them after a miserable decades-long night?
"Such is the burden of the Crown," she quietly mumbled. There existed no perfect choice—
"Drau!" The screen pulled back to reveal a beaming angel. "I'm done!"
"I can see that," her lips twitched in amusement. "What did you think of your first dress fitting?"
"Kinda nerve-wracking," Yuriko's head spun towards the owner of the boutique. "Er! No offense! Just my first time doing this sorta thingy!"
"None taken, Lady Yuriko," Ramona Barsa made to prostrate themselves on the floor. "I apologize for providing a less than acceptable experience."
"It was fine! Great, actually!" Yuriko stopped them, adorably flustered all the while.
"If that's everything, then we'll be taking our leave," Draudillon rose from her seat. "When can we expect the items to be delivered?"
"Your Majesty," the tall tailoress bowed from her position beside and slightly behind Yuriko. "I'll bring the gowns to the castle by the twenty-fifth of Lower Fire."
"Thank you, Ramona," she nodded in acknowledgment. Cutting it close, but that was her own fault for pushing it this far down the line. "Someone will be sent to collect it when you're finished, so just inform an angel when you're ready."
"Gowns?!" Yuriko gaped in astonishment. "I thought it was one!"
Had they not been paying attention? No, Draudillon recalled the past few hours they spent in the boutique—Yuriko had been staring at the displays for nearly the entirety of the appointment. "It's multiple."
"Amazing… although um, how am I gonna pay for it? Even making one in a month sounds real tough…"
Ramona looked at the dragon queen in bafflement, as if to ask 'What the hell are they talking about?' "I'm paying, so don't bother yourself over the cost."
"A-Ah, thanks!" Draudillon twitched and the tailoress flinched at the angel's sudden bow. "I'll definitely repay you as soon as I can!"
'Just let me do something for you, okay?'
"Your Majesty," Ramona uncomfortably fidgeted. "There's no need to provide payment—"
"You've already been compensated," Draudillon pinched the bridge of her nose. It seemed being around the angel had the tendency to part most people from their higher faculties. "Anyway, thank you for your services. We'll be taking our leave."
"See ya!" Yuriko waved to the stooping tailoress as they exited the store and hopped into the carriage in a singular, seamless motion. She took the angel's proffered hand, letting them carefully pull her up to join them inside the vehicle's body. "Flying is faster."
The ground was too cramped for their six wings.
"That draws unnecessary attention," to be exact, it wasn't the attention itself, but the practical problems it would cause. "Silas's house has people constantly gathering around it ever since you've been sighted there on multiple occasions. Miss Barsa might appreciate the business, but I doubt she'd want throngs of gawkers obstructing the streets everyday."
"I could leave some summons to keep them away," they leaned against her tensed shoulders. "Like with Silas—Drau, are you okay?"
"No," she resisted the urge to lie and say she was. "Just… busier than usual."
It wasn't untrue. Wasn't the full truth either. Not like she knew how to properly give form to the emotions roiling inside her.
"Oh," Yuriko laid their hand atop hers. "Is there anything I can help with?"
"Organizing the angels. Could you talk with Martin and Marquis Aliund later today?"
"I'll do that," her beloved resolutely nodded. "And if you need something or want to talk, I'm here for you. Always."
They stayed on the earth because she was their chain, shackle, and ball.
"Thank you," the carriage returned to a quietude that was sort of comfortable yet sort of not.
'Can't I at least try to be cheerful for her?' Without anything to distract her, she fell into the old habit of castigating herself. 'Look at how you're making them worry.'
"Y'know, I thought sewing a ball gown would take more than a month," Yuriko—bless her—tried to bring something other than stillness to the carriage's interior. "And she has to make yours and mine," they halted before directing an amazed gaze at Draudillon. "It's really… wow."
There were more of those amazing masters, once. Unripened potential plucked from the tree that was the Draconic Kingdom.
"Probably relevant classes and levels," she snorted as the angel unconvincingly scowled. "In all seriousness, she doesn't have to create them from scratch. Remember the catalog I showed you earlier this morning?"
Worrying about dresses while people died, bodies set aside for renewed life, only to die again.
"Mhm," the angel's head bobbed up and down. "So Ramona's just gonna adjust the ones we picked out to fit us?"
"I believe so. Though I admit I lack the expertise to give a more detailed answer."
There were too many questions she didn't have the answers to.
"I don't mind, Drau," Yuriko flashed a smile. She wasn't sure if it was just her, but Draudillon thought she could detect a waver in the expression. "We can ask Ramona when we see her again!"
"Mm…" The dragon queen stared out the window, arm propped against the sill. Outside, people went about their day with an energy that could only come with faith in the future.
Faith in their Queen. Their Goddess.
Not for the first time, and certainly not for the last, Draudillon wondered if she was truly capable of fulfilling the expectations of millions.
Or even of the single person sitting next to her.
'Maybe I should call for another budget review…'
Hopefully, tackling the problems plaguing the present would bring some clarity to her mind.
It didn't.
"Not surprising," Draudillon tiredly muttered while rereading the compiled report. She'd already gone through it with the Royal Court, but the swiftness with which the initiative had been deployed meant there was plenty for her to catch up on. "Demanding heavier reparations would be a good excuse—Who am I kidding? We don't need excuses."
That said, looting the beastmen at this current stage wouldn't be beneficial to the kingdom considering the arachnoid threat they were stemming. She wanted them neutered, not outright destroyed—if she permitted reason to dictate her actions, at least. 'Worst comes to worst, we recall our soldiers and have the angels exterminate every last trace of the spiders. Hardly a great loss.'
The waste of opportunity would sting, true, but chances to train the kingdom's army certainly existed in the future. Unfortunately.
Perhaps not from the west where the crown jewel of humanity watched over its children in the name of the Six Great Gods. Gods who weren't really gods at all and were confused people like everybody else.
In the east however, laid the six superpowers of the continent. The dragon queen was not so foolish as to believe that their differences could be settled peacefully.
"Leaping from one conflict to the next," what would mother and father think? Peace from the beastmen had finally been achieved, and she was already thinking about jumping into the next ocean of brutal violence. 'They'd be disappointed, doubtlessly.'
She pinched her arm.
And did it again until a whole stretch of skin was gripped in her fist.
'Come to think of it, I never followed up on her offer.'
Maybe that was why, Draudillon thought as she tightened her grasp, because any sane person would've leapt at the opportunity instead of formulating excuses to avoid—
"Drau, is now a good time?" The office door cracked open to reveal a blonde-crested head.
"Of course," she released her arm. "What is it?"
"Dinner," Yuriko's foot pushed the door fully open, hands full with a tray of hot food. "Sorry it's been a while because of all the stuff going on—"
Ah. She was bleeding.
A crimson estuary stained the papers and table below.
Ironic. Even hundreds of kilometers away, blood was shed for her decrees.
"『Heal』!" Glass shattered with a harsh, crystalline cacophony. Thick, meaty fluid spread over the wooden flooring only to be hungrily soaked up the carpets. "『Sublime Exaltation』,『Bestow Blessing』!"
'Meat and bean soup,' Draudillon shamefully thought even as the light emanating from her form blinded her. 'It smells good.'
What a waste.
To fret over a nasty thing like Draudillon Oriculus.
"Were you attacked?!" The sunlight streaming into the window was blocked out by a veil of angels, natural order replaced by the radiance of false divinity. "Drau, talk to me—"
"Nobody attacked me," she cut them off. "I'm…"
Okay.
"… not okay."
"I know," Yuriko made their way towards her with strong and confident steps. They really have changed, haven't they? "You said that on the carriage. Do you… maybe wanna talk about it now? If you don't, it's alright—"
"I'm sorry."
"What?"
"I'm so sorry."
"What for?"
"Aren't you tired? Going along with my whims, killing hordes of demihumans, having a kingdom's worth of responsibility dumped on your shoulders? Doesn't it wear you down?"
"Drau, you brought all this up after I came back from the Azerlisias—"
"It's a yes or no question."
"…"
Even without their halo and wings, they were divine. Nothing resembling the artificiality of their summons.
Why was she lashing out at them? Could it be that properly giving an apology was beyond her capabilities as well?
She could apologize to her people after their villages, towns, and cities buckled under the beastmen.
She could even look the families and comrades of slain soldiers in the eye and apologize.
Yuriko wasn't them.
"Nevermind. I'm afraid I'm not quite myself today. Thank you for coming by to check on me. I apologize for causing a scare and wasting the food you prepared."
"Yes."
Her soul sank. H-Heh, it was only natural. Who wouldn't be?
"I am tired," Yuriko firmly grabbed her face with two loving hands. "It does wear me down. I hate having to kill people, and being responsible for so much stresses me out, but you wanna know something?"
Draudillon swallowed the lump choking her throat. They were so close.
"I don't regret it. Not a single moment. I don't regret helping you, our people, our kingdom."
"That's not something a sane person would say after going through everything you did."
"Guess I'm not very sane then."
"Pft, so you're implying I fell in love with what, a lunatic?"
"Hmm," the angel sucked in their cheeks and made a contemplative noise. "Drau."
They sounded so… unbothered. "I shouldn't have said that—"
"Drau," Yuriko pressed their forehead against hers, eyes closed, and wordlessly remained in that position. After a few silent seconds, Draudillon hesitantly wrapped her own arms around the angel's neck. "Drau."
"Are you angry?"
"Love you," Yuriko nuzzled her neck. "And no. I just wanted to say your name."
"I don't deserve it," the dragon queen bit her bottom lip. "Your love—I don't deserve an ounce of it."
"I'll be the judge of that."
"You're too forgiving for your own good," Draudillon mumbled as she toyed with a strand of their hair. "It's okay to blame me a lot more, you know?"
"Dun wanna."
"Idiot."
"No, you!"
"You can stop anytime you want to. The duties you imposed upon yourself… it's fine to let go."
Maybe they were both insane.
Them for giving so much of themself. Her for being willing to give that up despite the disaster that would entail.
"Putting on the kinda mask that screams 'I'm okay!' for the kingdom is something I've gotten used to," the angel's soft reassurances were too kind for the kind of person they were intended for. "But I also wanna be strong for you. Not just trying to pretend so you don't worry."
Once upon a time, she selfishly told herself she wouldn't ever let them fly off. That she would be their anchor.
"I'm not going to stop. Even if we… if for some reason things don't work out, I'll still protect this kingdom. Because there's a lot of precious things I care about now."
Now she knew that even if they did, they would return. Because Angels flew in the heavens, Dragons ruled their domains, and humans—
'Isn't this somewhat dangerous?'
—were pitiful and wonderful creatures like themselves.
"Drau…"
'Soft,' it tasted better than any wine she had ever drunk. Draudillon relaxed into the sweet kiss, soothed by the presence of the woman who had chosen to stand by her side in spite of all her flaws.
Her heart jumped when Yuriko opened their mouth by just the smallest amount; their tongue gently brushed against her closed lips. She acquiesced, allowing a small gasp to escape as it pushed against the pearly walls before delving into her panting mouth.
A tender groan escaped Yuriko's throat while Draudillon caressed the foreign, but not unwelcome, organ with her own. Feeling more confident, she wove her fingers through Yuriko's wavy hair and nibbled on the angel's lower lip, gently scraping her teeth across the delicate yet unbreakable skin.
She had been wrong. Yuriko was still as soft as the day they'd first met.
In that heated haze, they certainly knocked over more than a few objects. In that moment, Draudillon found it hard to care.
Somehow, the unlikely couple found themselves on their bed, angel above Dragon Lord.
"Are you sure—"
Her next words were stolen away as Yuriko pressed her lips to the raven-haired queen's.
Their grip around her tightened, the angel deepening the kiss until Draudillon tapped their shoulder.
Yuriko's face, so often filled with an innocent openness, was now dominated by some potent combination of desire and shyness. An expression meant solely for Draudillon and nobody else.
If she wasn't insane before, then this was surely enough to drive her past the brink.
"Can I…?"
A slow nod was the only reply she received.
It was the only one she needed.
'Wow!『True Seeing』makes that look sooo weird!'
You saw right through me since the start.
'Who—?!'
And I suppose…
'Me? I'm… looking for something? Or someone?'
We ended up finding each other.
